


Open Doors

by floorcoaster



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Gift Exchange, Valentine's Day
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-15
Updated: 2021-02-15
Packaged: 2021-03-18 15:21:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,038
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29370744
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/floorcoaster/pseuds/floorcoaster
Summary: Draco and Hermione buy each other the same gift for Valentine's Day.
Relationships: Hermione Granger/Draco Malfoy
Comments: 13
Kudos: 154
Collections: Dramione Valentine Exchange





	Open Doors

**Author's Note:**

  * For [KrysKrossZee](https://archiveofourown.org/users/KrysKrossZee/gifts).
  * In response to a prompt by Anonymous in the [DramioneValentineExchange](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/DramioneValentineExchange) collection. 



> **Prompt:**
> 
> Draco and Hermione buy each other the same valentine's gift.  
> I really hope you like this!

Draco held up the item he'd just unwrapped, confused beyond his ability to think. He checked Hermione's hands—yes, she was still holding the box he'd wrapped for her, the one with bold, red paper tied with a silver ribbon, unopened, undisturbed. So how was it, then, that he was now holding the same thing he'd given her?

The box he'd opened had been wrapped in silver paper and tied with a pink ribbon. They were of similar size and heft, but it had never entered his thoughts that they might contain the same item.

Well, alright, not the _exact_ same item. But close enough.

He met her anxious gaze and realized she was waiting for him to say something. Clutching the gift in his hand, he pointed to the box she was holding. "Go ahead. Open it."

"But—Draco! Surely you're going to say more than that! I mean, I gave you a—"

"Please, just... open it."

Hermione's brow furrowed slightly, evidence of her hurt. With one last, questioning look at him, she sighed and did as he'd asked—a true sign of her love for him.

He waited, unable to hide his amusement, while she slowly untied the ribbon. Then, with shaking hands, she pulled off the paper. Finally, a simple, brown box was revealed, and she closed her eyes for a fraction of a second before removing the lid. She carefully removed the top layer of tissue paper, then her hand flew to her mouth. Delight now danced in her eyes, and she burst out laughing. He chuckled as she doubled over, clutching the box to her chest as though it was the funniest thing she'd ever beheld.

When her mirth was exhausted, Hermione removed the item he'd so painstakingly, thoughtfully, carefully wrapped and held it up for him to see.

"A key."

He shrugged. "A key."

"But... I gave _you_ a key. To my flat. Tell me this doesn't go to the Manor."

"Of course not." He shook his head and ran a hand through his hair. "I got a flat. In that building you like so much? In Chelsea."

Her jaw dropped. "You did _what?_ "

"I got a flat—"

She shook her head vigorously. "No, I mean, I heard you, but... Draco! I can't believe you got a flat!"

He shrugged, feeling suddenly ridiculous. "I know. It... Might have been a bit rash, I'll admit."

Hermione looked from him to the key in her hand, admiring it as though it were some precious piece of art and not a brass key. He hadn't even had to do anything special; the building manager had given him two copies.

"You're asking me to live with you?"

Draco, feeling grumpy and unsettled, held up the key she'd given him to her flat. "I assume that's what this is all well? An invitation to cohabitate?"

Her eyes sparkled and it was maddening, but not in a good way this time. "You're here so much anyway, I thought, since we had promised not to get each other anything..." At this, she gave him a very reproving look. "I just thought a key would make things easier. I live in a Muggle flat, and while I employ plenty of wards, there is one that requires a physical key. This way you can come and go as you please."

"And I plan to be with you as much as possible," he grumbled. She could tell he was withdrawing. She could always tell, and it drove him mad at times, but it was also one of the reasons he loved her: she knew him almost better than he knew himself. Now, however, he wanted to block her out so she wouldn't see him sulking.

"Those were my thoughts. What were _you_ thinking, then?" Hermione jingled her key.

"What was I thinking?" He sent her a half-glare just to let her know he felt cornered. She moved toward him but stopped when he took a step back. "Well... I know how much you complain about this place. And even though you've lived here a few years, I know you don't love it."

"Go on."

He pursed his lips. "I also wish I had somewhere of my own. You know how I feel about the Manor." Being there was too painful a reminder of everything in his past. He'd dealt with it, made his peace, but he didn't want to be surrounded by it. That was why he spent so much time at her place, why he slept there most nights of the week.

"Yes." It came out a whisper, and he was grateful for her serious tone

"We never go there. I would never want to take you there more than absolutely necessary. I thought, if I had my own place, one I knew you would love too, I could finally make it a home." His gut twisted anxiously. "With you."

Her expression softened, eyes shining. "Draco."

"But it was impulsive of me to do it without talking to you first. I should have—"

She swept towards him and put a hand on his arm to stop him from talking. "Draco."

He turned to her warily, not quite sure he wanted to hear what she had to say. Even though her expression was gentle, he feared the worst.

"I love it." She smiled at him, then looked down at the key. "Would... Would it be _our_ flat? Not mine, not yours, but ours?"

A tidal wave of joy swept through him at her hesitant yet bold question. "Ours." He hadn't actually slept there yet, as he'd been hoping to spend the first night there with her. It wasn't even furnished, just a few things he'd brought.

Hermione slipped a hand into his, her hesitant smile from before giving way to a blindingly beautiful one.

His lips quirked up in the beginning of a smile of his own. "It's mostly empty. We'd need to, uh, fill it out a bit."

"So, let me get this straight. You let a flat, for us, and gave me a key." He nodded. "And you're asking me to move in with you?"

"That's generally what a key means, isn't it?"

"Not necessarily." Hermione shook her head. "For example, my gift of a key was more for the sake of convenience. Moving in together is something couples typically discuss before one party goes and secures somewhere new to live." Her smile was slightly teasing.

"Ah." He was feeling more confident now. He knew her well enough to recognize that she was pleased with his gift, touched by the gesture. "I suppose I ought to make it official, then." He took her in his arms, locking his hands together at her lower back. Her arms rested on his chest, and she looked up at him through her dark eyelashes.

"Go on, then."

"Hermione. Would you like to move in with me? And by that I mean leave this flat, pack your things, take them to our new flat, and unpack them? I will do the same with my things at the Manor. We'll both have keys, as it's a Muggle place, but it will be ours."

Another beautiful smile graced her features, and he knew he was the luckiest man alive. "Draco, I would love that." She kissed him. "Yes!" Another quick kiss. "Yes, I can't wait to live with you and call somewhere ours."

Finally, she kissed him deeply, lifting up on her toes to reach him better, pulling him close. After a few minutes, they were breathing heavily. Draco stopped the kiss, then looked at her and grinned.

"Do you want to see it?"

She nodded vigorously. "It's in Chelsea, you said?"

"You know that bakery you love so much?" Her eyes widened, sparkling softly. "It's a two minute walk from there. And we can easily set up the wards and precautions needed to use magic in a Muggle area."

"My contract on this place isn't up for four months." She glanced around the room, her gaze lingering on the refrigerator that, despite her best efforts, still randomly clanged every now and then.

"Break it. I'll pay that. Or keep paying here, I don't care. But it doesn't have to keep us from moving in together." She started to speak again, and he gently pressed a finger to her lips. "I know you have questions. And concerns. We can address every one of them. But first, I'd really like to show it to you."

Hermione nodded, and a look he knew to both love and fear came into her eyes. It was a sign that she'd had an idea, and there was no telling where that might lead.

"All right. Yes, let's go see it." She pushed out of his arms and started toward her room, then spun around to face him once more. "You said there's no furniture?"

"Nothing to speak of, no."

She nodded once. "Right. I'm just going to... Freshen up."

A jolt of desire shot through him at the promise in her words. He considered following her, catching her half-dressed and having his way with her, but then she was talking again, yelling so he could hear her from the other room.

"Let's grab takeaway at that Chinese place we like so much, then head to the flat. Our flat." He smiled at her words. "Wow. Our flat, Draco. I hope I like it."

She reappeared then, somehow miraculously transformed into the goddess who stepped into the living room in just under four minutes. She'd changed into a red dress with a deep v-neck and heels that had to be at least two inches high—the highest he'd ever seen her wear. His mouth went dry. She'd also fashioned her hair into some sort of updo, and it was hard to tell if the chaos was intentional or if she'd just been thoroughly shagged.

"Ready?" She flashed him a smile and patted her purse, a small red bag that he knew to be her beaded one Transfigured to look like something else.

He nodded and grabbed his cloak. He'd need to think about uninteresting things for a while—bubotuber pus, blast-ended skrewts, puking pastilles—in order to cool his blood.

"Where are you planning for us to eat?"

"Our flat, of course." She patted her bag as though that answered everything. "I've brought a few things along with me."

He arched an eyebrow. "What exactly did you bring?"

She shrugged, her eyes glinting mischievously. "Just a few things we're going to need. A table, some chairs... My bed."

"Your... Bed." So much for thinking about unappealing things.

She hummed her assent. "You said there was no furniture, right?"

"Right..." He could see the bedroom in his mind, the plain wood floors, the tall white walls, and he imagined Hermione's bed there covered with her white sheets. It was like something out of a dream in his mind: her in that bold, vibrant red dress surrounded by the warm wood and white.

He swallowed hard. She smirked and sauntered towards him, the dress swishing deliciously and accentuating the curves he loved so much. She stopped in front of him, then slowly spun around. "Zip me up?"

He groaned upon seeing that the dress was almost completely backless, and his mind jumped to wondering if she was, likewise, without knickers. With trembling fingers, he complied with her request, pulling the zipper the scant two inches necessary to hide the skin or her arse.

"It only seems right that we properly christen our new abode, don't you think?" She batted her eyes. "I'm all dressed for it. Or not."

A strangled sound escaped his throat as he went to snag her and pull her toward him, all care about their new flat long gone. But she had anticipated his move and jumped out of his reach, laughing in an infuriating way and wagging her finger at him. "Ah-ah, Draco. Not yet. Not here."

"Fine," he growled. "Then let's go. Hang dinner; we'll order after." With that, he did catch her, and as her eyes widened in shock, he Apparated them straight into their new flat.

Where he promptly undid the tiny zipper he'd just done up.


End file.
